Written by: Kate Holm, Boob to Food General Manager & Clinical Director
As a nutritionist, naturopath and general manager of Boob to Food I am very passionate about health and infant nutrition. I’m also a mum of 3… so even with all the passion and knowledge, my starting solids journey with my third baby had to be practical and easy.
When Imogen, my third bub, was about a week shy of 6 months old she was displaying all the signs of readiness - sitting unassisted, with great control of her hands, head and neck - and a definite interest in food! Me? I was not displaying signs of readiness! Meeting this milestone with what is most likely our last baby felt bittersweet, but she was definitely ready to go.
Our intention was always to focus on baby led weaning and finger foods, but given the high iron requirement at this age (11mg per day!) I also wanted to explore some purees to ensure her needs were being met. This was something I hadn’t done with my older two children, I also hadn’t discovered Le Puree when they were the same age!
Some of the first foods we offered her were a beef rib bone, lamb cutlet, lamb kafta fingers, coconut yoghurt with added liver powder and a selection of the Le Puree purees, sometimes also boosted with liver, spleen or beef organ powder for extra iron.
While Immy LOVED food and was very interested, it became clear that she wanted to do it herself. My plan for purees? Not an option. Thankfully she has been navigating self feeding really well, and doesn’t gag as much as my eldest did so I feel much more relaxed.
We have slowly been introducing some of the top allergen foods. I decided to start with peanut and egg as these are the two that have the largest body of research around earlier introduction. We then moved on to almond, cashew, macadamia and dairy as these are ingredients that we use regularly in our family meals. So far so good and we haven’t had any reactions.
I’m not sure if Imogen has a large appetite or is just loving the experience - A LOT of the food ends up on the floor, but she will happily sit for a long time trying new things and feeding herself. I was so shocked when one night she sat in her highchair for 1.5 HOURS eating and playing with her food. Everyone else had long been finished - but I’m happy to see her love for food (for now at least!) and look forward to sharing my passion, mealtimes and let’s face it… probably my own food with her some more.
Boob to Food General Manager & Clinical Director
kate@boobtofood.com
